Chain of Command, Part II

Captain Picard is in the hands of the Cardassians, whilst Captain Jellico continues to run the Enterprise in a dictatorial style.

This is one of the classic episodes of Star Trek with a great double plot of Picard's torture by Gul Madred and Jellico's time aboard Enterprise.

Jellico's command continues to be a fascinating story of the ship run in a strict military style by a direct and controlling leader. His style is domination and there are numerous great scenes of his combative exchanges with characters. The best moment for me is his cap-in-hand return to Riker where the two exchange honest opinions of each other. Ronny Cox is excellent once more and Jonathan Frakes is also great.

The stars of the show are Patrick Stewart and David Warner in their intense scenes of torture. There is nothing gratuitous about what happens but a lot of the psychological and physical torment is conveyed through Stewart's great performance. Warner is suitably cold and malevolent in his portrayal.

It is quite reminiscent of 'Nineteen Eighty-Four' with Madred's questioning style. He tries to break Picard to the point he might do and say anything to avoid suffering. This, in an extreme way, parallels the will Jellico has for domination over subordinates and enemies, and both stories parallel each other superbly. As nasty as it is, it ends in a far more upbeat way than Winston Smith's experience at the Ministry of Love.

It is not perfect. I think the notion of Riker suddenly being the best pilot around is a lazy plot contrivance, but as it leads to one of the best scenes in the episode it is forgivable.

This is one of the best acted episodes of the franchise. Stewart, Warner, and Cox are all fantastic as you would expect with this kind of material. Also regular cast members like Jonathan Frakes are at the top of their game.

Visually everything works perfectly for the intended purpose. The torture scenes are not particularly violent, but the use of lighting, stripping Stewart naked and the set design of Madred's office have the psychological affect of making it feel quite brutal.

'Chain of Command part 2' is not a pleasant experience, but sadly neither is life for people who endure suffering at the hands of others. One job it does well is set the scene for 'Deep Space Nine' where these themes and narratives involving the Cardassians are expanded.

It's a 9.5/10 for me but I round upwards.

Torture is a common plot device in American media. It is powerfully provocative. But while most media portray torture, falsely, as effective and fast though messy, TNG portrayts it truthfully as unreliable and spoiling of potential intelligence as well as a horrible crime.

Besides the incredible integrity shown in this episode so characteristic of the Star Trek franchise, and TNG especially, this episode contains superb acting and writing. The primary characters all appear to have depth and aren't easily distinguished as the "evil enemy" and the "great hero". It really goes to show that expensive production costs are not required for great dramatic performance.

"There are 4 lights."

A 4 second performance. The last time Captain Picard / Patrick Stewart pronounces the words has to be one of the greatest acting performances ever. He must have spoken to a P.O.W. before he did this bit to know what it's like. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1npL-TNFOAQ

In this second part of a two part TNG story we learn a bit of Cardassian history and culture. Turns out they weren't always the ruthless warriors TNG fans came to know. In fact they were at one time a planet of poets and philosophers.

All that's changed now as Patrick Stewart learns that the tip about Cardassians building biological weapons is a hoax. It was all to lure Jean Luc Picard into hands that would deliver him to the Cardassians. They want information on Starfleet defenses and aren't to squeamish on how they get it.

As for the Enterprise the crew grumbles under Ronny Cox but in the end he proves to be a wily adversary for the Cardassians.

One of the better TNG stories out there.

In the conclusion of this episode, we are toggled between the Enterprise and the imprisoned Picard, kept by Cardassian torturers on the surface. Picard is first drugged and then stripped and subjected to horrors. I came to realize that this was not unlike Winston Smith in Orwell's 1984. The Cardassian commander is seeking information from Picard and he uses every bit of subterfuge he can, including a torture device implanted in the Captain which sends him into agony. He continually asks Picard how many lights are above him. There are four and Picard continues to affirm this. But the commander wants him to change his mind (true brainwashing). Patrick Stewart gives the performance of a lifetime (and he has been good in lots of performances). Meanwhile, the crew is trying to figure out how to outfox the evil Cardassians. Picard begins to sense little bits of weakness in the commander and his race and plays on that. While it just results in more pain, he is making inroads into his psyche. The conclusion is excellent and sets up future encounters. There is also a great scene between Commander Riker and Captain Jellico.